Headaches
by GRINtelligencer
Summary: Illness erupts in the Castle as a demon assassin passes from Officer to Officer, trying to get close enough to the Dragon Lord to eliminate him. Can the Officers figure out the plot in time to prevent it? Even if they have to kill one of their own?
1. Chapter 1

**Headaches **

Dane Soar

My first multi-chapter story in Dragon Knights, I'm hoping you enjoy it. Please review!

**Part I**

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**Reception Hall**

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Alfeegi felt ill.

Very, very ill. Fall over, be sick, pass out ill.

He pressed the wineglass to his forehead, the coolness temporarily relieving the unusual heat in the reception room, it seemed hotter than in normally was, or was it just him? Truth to tell, he wouldn't be here at all if he didn't think it was really important, if he had any choice at all Alfeegi would be in his own rooms, in bed trying not to feel so miserable.

But Kai-stern had recently been brought in unconscious, apparently someone had run across him collapsed on a road outside Draqueen and Alfeegi was to report to Lord Lykouleon what he'd been able to glean from the White Dragon Officer's half done paperwork. Lord Lykouleon was busy recently, due to trouble off the eastern coast, pirate raids and now was the most convent time for Alfeegi to pass on what he'd been able to find out.

Normally that wouldn't be a problem, even if the reception was for the greeting of the new Octavian diplomat's arrival at court, but Alfeegi hadn't bargained on being sick like this, the Dragon Clan didn't usually fall ill.

There was a light touch on his arm. "You okay?" It was Ruwalk, his brown eyes concerned.

"I'm fine." He replied quickly, perhaps too quickly because Ruwalk frowned at him.

"You look pale, did you spend too much time around Kai-stern?"

"I visited him last night, yes."

"Well, maybe your catching what made him faint." Briefly he put the back of a finger to Alfeegi's forehead. "I hate to say it, but I think you have a fever."

"I'll be fine, don't fuss." Alfeegi glowered at Ruwalk.

"No, fussing is you job, I forgot. Come on, Lykouleon isn't busy now, you can give him your report and then get some rest." He pulled Alfeegi by the arm through the crowds toward where the Dragon Lord and Lady sat.

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**Night Before**

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Never before had Kai-stern looked more human than now, when he was ill. Perhaps it was because he had once been human that he'd gotten sick in the first place.

But Karis, the Red Dragon Officer, had suspicions that she'd shared only with the other Officers that something or someone had attacked him on that path. A suspicion supported by the fact that there was a nasty bump on Kai-stern's head.

Now, watching the Blue Officer sweat with fever, Alfeegi couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't woken up yet. He hoped that Kai-stern wasn't miserable as he looked, it must be horrible to be sick. Alfeegi hadn't been in a long time, so he couldn't actually remember, but was suddenly glad it usually didn't happen to him.

There was a paper-cut on his finger, he'd gotten it just that day, that twinged, annoyingly. He hated it when he got one, it made shuffling papers awkward.

And then he'd reached out to touch Kai-stern…when…Alfeegi woke up in bed, five minutes before he needed to be in the reception hall, he'd slept all day!

He didn't remember how he'd gotten there…

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**That Night**

**Reception Hall**

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Crossing long arms, Karis, the Red Dragon Officer, leaned back against a pillar and watched people go by. She quite enjoyed observing court functions, as long as she didn't have to do anything. There were a good number of Fighters posted here, but she sort of wished that Tetheus was not out in the field, the young fellow was quiet, but good company. Then again, he was probably going to be back tomorrow or the day after, along with the squadron he'd been sent with.

She eyed Alfeegi as Ruwalk steered him over to were the Lord and Lady sat. The White Officer looked unusually pale.

Her blue gaze narrowed as she sensed… something, something that scrapped like sandpaper to her senses. Reflexively she stiffened. There was a note of wrongness in this situation.

Starting to push off from the wall, Karis was just in time to see Alfeegi freeze in place.

For one horrible moment he stood stock still, swaying in place. That strange, strange aura flared one last time, then Alfeegi dropped his wineglass. It shattered on the marble and almost as if the sound had broken a spell, the White Officer collapsed.

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**Unknown**

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The demon worked it's way through the maze of the Officer's mind slowly, carefully, taking his time, though he knew the longer he took to insert himself fully into the mind, the more the effects would show on his host. Doing it slowly would mean there was less chance of damaging the mind in question, which he didn't want.

Showing his hand, or the scaly appendage that was his hand when he wasn't in someone's mind, would be a bad idea at this point. He needed to get closer to the Dragon Lord before he could risk striking.

For the moment, this mind was a confusing maze of numbers that Kenen would have to wade through.

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**Later**

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Very slowly Alfeegi realized that the room that was coming back into focus, was his own. It took longer than it should have. His head was still pounding.

"Hey there," said a detached voice from the side, Alfeegi turned his head to see Ruwalk, who was putting a book aside.

"Glade to see your awake." he reached for a pitcher of water, and after pouring a glass took a folded packet up. "A doctor came to look at you, I'm under eyeball orders to make you drink some sort of noxious brew he _calls_ medicine. Let me just make it up." Ruwalk dumped what was in the folded packet into the glass of water, before stirring it.

The water turned a nasty brown color and Ruwalk winced in sympathy as he passed it to the other Officer.

As Alfeegi took it he noted his hands shook, he frowned, having to steady the glass with both hands, to his surprise. "Were you sitting here the whole time? And how long was I out anyway?"

"Three days, and no, if you'd woken up ten minutes earlier, Tetheus would have been here, and Karis before that. We've been taking shifts." Ruwalk shrugged. "When you're sick the last thing you want is to wake up alone. Hell, Kai-stern even dropped in and he's not supposed to even be out of bed yet. Don't you feel loved?"

"No, I feel sick." He blinked tiredly. "Wait, Kai-stern's awake?"

"Yeah, he woke up around when we were carrying you to your rooms. And I only really know because he came staggering out of his chambers down the hall, as soon as he woke up. He says he can't remember what happened at all but Karis—" Ruwalk stopped. "Sorry, you've just woken up, I shouldn't be starting on this."

Alfeegi shifted the glass in his hands. "No, no it's alright, tell me, what does Karis think?"

"She…well, she thinks Kai-stern was attacked and maybe drugged, though she and Tetheus are still trying to figure out a motive. Hey, you still haven't taken that medicine," he waved a finger. "take it, I know it's disgusting looking, but it's supposed to help."

He lifted the glass reluctantly, draining it. With a wince, he passed the empty glass back to Ruwalk. "That was horrible." But the headache was fading a little.

"Yes, but it's good for you, most things like that do taste bad," Ruwalk put the glass aside. "how do you feel?"

"My head hurts and I feel somewhat… odd, but a little better."

"That's good." said Ruwalk.

"By the way," Alfeegi had just noticed. "what happened to your arm?"

Ruwalk touched the bandage. "Oh, this? Sword practice this morning with Tetheus. I'm really rusty and he's not. The only reason I'm not missing my arm is that he managed to sort of turn the blow after I fell. It's not so bad, it's pretty fairly shallow."

"But—" Alfeegi began.

"Why look at this!" Karis was leaning in the doorway. "Here I come to relieve Ruwalk early for his watch and here's our sleeping beauty awake. You, sir, had a lot of people worried. I can feel my hair turning gray with worry." Karis fingered a strand of her already completely gray hair. "though it might be a little late for that." They laughed, though Alfeegi up wincing and pressing his hand to his suddenly aching head.

Both Karis and Ruwalk exchanged worried looks.

"This whole thing is too odd," muttered Karis. "Hey, you alright?" she asked Alfeegi, who nodded as he lent back in the bed. He looked tired. "Take a nap, you might feel better. Can you take the watch, Ruwalk? I want to tell Tetheus, the Lord too, the good news, and I have some work to catch up on."

"Don't neglect your work on my account." Alfeegi said at once. "Please." He sighed thinking of the accumulating papers in his own office. "It's a good thing I'm ahead in my work. Otherwise there could be quite a snarl in the paperwork."

"Don't worry about it," Ruwalk patted his shoulder. "just concern yourself with getting better. Speaking of which, Karis, you should tell Kai-stern Alfeegi's awake, he's bedridden," Ruwalk explained to Alfeegi. "on doctor's orders."

Chuckling evilly, Karis left. "You know he hates having to stay in bed." Ruwalk said in response to Alfeegi's perplexed look. "But anyway, you eyelids are drooping. Go to sleep."

Grumbling a bit, Alfeegi closed his eyes drowsily.

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**Later**

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"But all this is senseless, Karis. I don't remember a damn thing." Said Kai-stern, his head in the heel of a hand.

"You're positive? Surely you remember what gave you that nasty lump on your head."

"No! And believe me, it's bothering me too. I didn't just fall down faint by the roadside. I must have had a little help. I'm thinking an attack."

Karis leaned back in her chair with a sigh. "So let's think what might be the most likely candidate for attacking a Blue Officer, a known diplomat. Let's think for a moment." She put a finger on her chin. "Oh, how about a demon?"

"But what would they gain from knocking me out? Maybe if they'd killed me it might have gained something, maybe even started a war with one of the outlaying kingdoms, but I really can't fathom why they'd just leave me there."

"Hmmm. No chance you ran into a branch or something?"

Kai-stern touched the back of his head, where he could feel through his hair the wound. "No, I doubt it. It feels like something hit me. But again, I'm not seeing the point." He winced. "Damn it, it's so _frustrating_, I don't remember anything that happened before I was knocked out."

"Well, what's the last thing you remember?" Karis asked.

"Walking in the road…and I looked up to judge the time by the sun…then I was waking up here with a pounding headache." He sighed. "well, enough of things I don't recall, how's Alfeegi?"

"Feeling somewhat better now that he's awake," replied Karis.

"I have to hope that if I'm sick I didn't give what I have to him. I feel bad enough, thanks."

"Get some sleep," said Karis, rising. "the sooner you're on your feet the better."

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**Unknown**

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Kenen was so angry he was giving his host a pounding headache. This one wasn't _going_ anywhere!

He needed to be closer to the Dragon Lord, and this host obviously wouldn't do.

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**Later**

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After some time, when Karis didn't return to relieve him of his watch, Ruwalk dozed off, slumping gradually sideways in his chair. The moon rose, casting bars of sliver light across the boards of the floor that were slightly dappled from passing through the leaves of the tree outside.

And it was only when Ruwalk appeared to be completely asleep, did Alfeegi move. Or, it was Alfeegi's body that moved, but something in the stiff way he held his arms and the curiously blank look in his eyes hinted that it might be Kenen moving him.

Slowly he rose from the bed and padded on bare feet to where Ruwalk was. Reaching out, he carefully unwrapped the bandage. When the wound was partially shown he stopped, the gash glinting wetly in the light.

Letting the bandage fall loose from his fingers, he reached for the slash, putting the paper-cut on his finger to it.

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A little later Ruwalk woke. Opening his eyes he groaned.

His head was _killing_ him all of the sudden.

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**End of Part 1**


	2. Chapter 2

**Headaches **

Dane Soar

Thank you for the reviews, it's great to hear what you thought of my chapter. I'm sorry the scene jumping in so schizophrenic, this story doesn't lend itself to long scenes. Hopefully the next chapter will be faster in the upcoming.

**Officer's Quarters**

Ruwalk felt really and truly crappy. Maybe he'd caught what had been going around the other Officers. This wasn't good; with Alfeegi and Kai-stern out for the count, he'd been planning to pick up the slack. Well, in that case, Ruwalk would just have to suck it up and pretend his head wasn't aching like someone had hit it with a hammer.

He was good at shaking off minor sicknesses, he'd be fine. It did occur to him that this plan might end up as disastrous as Alfeegi's to go to the reception while ill, but he was a better actor than him, _he'd_ probably be able to get away with it.

He put his head in a hand, feeling the pounding ache in his skull.

Then he saw Alfeegi. Perhaps the other Officer had rolled out of bed, or tried to get up and passed out. Who knew? But for some reason or other Alfeegi was lying on the floor.

"Huh." Ruwalk said and went to pick him up. He managed to get him back in the bed somehow, though it wasn't graceful, but when he straitened up, his head throbbed and he felt even sicker.

**Later**

On walking into the supposed sickroom, Karis stopped short. "What the—" she took in Ruwalk on the floor.

"I know, I just woke up and saw him," said Alfeegi, starting to rise from his bed.

"You aren't supposed to get up," commented Kai-stern from behind Karis. He was leaning against the wall, looking paler than usual, but otherwise well.

"Neither are you." Karis said, as she knelt by Ruwalk. Taking up his arm she checked for his pulse. She nodded to indicate she had found it, then pointed at Alfeegi. "You. Stay." At Kai-stern. "And you. Deal with Ruwalk. I'm going to get a doctor." She left quickly.

"So," said Kai-stern. "deal with Ruwalk…" he glanced down at the prone Yellow Officer, then looked down at his own hands, which were shaking some. "Uh-huh. _Right_." So after a few moments of debating, Kai-stern rolled Ruwalk over and judged that was about all he could do for the time being. "Well…um…" said Kai-stern when the silence between him and Alfeegi stretched painfully. "feeling any better?"

"Mostly fine, yes, but what happened?"

"Hell if I know. This seems to be common all of the sudden."

"Yes, lots of us have been passing out lately,  
"I hope it's not going to end up as some trend or something."

Ten minutes later, Karis swept back into the room, followed by a fairy.

"Where's the doctor?" Kai-stern asked.

"This is Sayna," Karis indicated the elven woman. "the Fairy clan's diplomat and a healer. I ran into her in the hallway."

The elf knelt by Ruwalk, placing a gentle hand on his forehead. "What happened?" she asked. "Please tell me everything you know." She had a lilting accent to her voice but spoke with a certain crisp authority.

"We don't know much," Kai-stern said. "but between us we have three people sick who almost never are. We walked in on Ruwalk here, on the floor."

"Unconscious?"

"Almost exactly as you see him now. Well, I rolled him over but nothing beyond that."

Sayna nodded and her hand glowed gently. Beneath her gentle touch, Ruwalk stirred a little, then settled back into a deeper sleep.

"What did you find?" Karis asked.

"Signs of stress and overwork, but also something… a little unusual. Nothing that I could place however. He had a strange tear in his aura, I might add."

"How so?" Kai-stern was still sitting on the floor, and from this vantage point he inspected the sleeping face of Ruwalk intently for signs of distress. There were none.

For a moment Sayna let her hand linger on the Yellow Officer's forehead as if she was fully testing the described rent. "It is strange, like something has forced it's way through his aura. But that cannot be right, because the only explanation I can think of is a magical attack, which is impossible. The rip is already healing itself," Sayna frowned. "magic would not have left a tear in this fashion." She stood, brushing off her flowing dress. "He should regain consciousness in about an hour. Let him rest for a few days and hopefully all will be well."

"Thank you," said Kai-stern, always mindful of diplomacy. "for your aid in our time of need and—"

But she waved him into silence. "It had nothing to do with any of that. I am a healer before I am an ambassador, after all. Now if you will excuse me, I must go. Please tell me if you find out anything about the cause of his collapse or if there is any way I can aid you. Now, Captain Karis, Officer Alfeegi, Officer Kai-stern," she bowed her head to each of them in turn. "good day."

Alfeegi slid out of his bed to sit on the floor next to Kai-stern, joining him in Ruwalk inspecting. "At least he has some color back," he commented. "he was pretty pale before."

A patch of wall no one had paid any attention to before spoke. "What is going on?" it asked. Tetheus had somehow materialized in the room, just after Sayna left.

Alfeegi pressed a hand against his suddenly racing heart. "You know Tetheus, you could _warn_ a person when you walk into a room! I've already done enough passing out for a lifetime, I don't need you scaring the life out of me,"

The immediate drama over the group dispersed, Karis to take Ruwalk to his rooms, Kai-stern off with Tetheus to fill him in, and Alfeegi was left with strict orders to rest.

Of course, Alfeegi being Alfeegi, as soon as the others were safely away he slipped out of bed and dressed himself, then stole away to the library. There was something he wanted to look up in the medical journals there.

**A Few Hallways Over**

The former human and demon halted in a side corridor, some distance from the Officer's rooms.

Tetheus took Kai-stern's elbow, the other Officer was somewhat out of breath and pale, offering him some support. Thankfully Kai-stern accepted the unspoken aid.

"You're probably wondering what all that back there was about," Kai-stern said finally. He looked up and read Tetheus' expression with a glance, as skill only he and Lykouleon had ever really mastered. "I thought so. The truth is we're all trying to figure this thing out between us and haven't had much luck. Now Ruwalk has collapsed, he's pretty much fine, don't worry about him, the healer says it might have been overwork."

"Surely you do not believe that," Tetheus interjected.

"I believe that it's a one of the reasons but not the only one. The healer made a strange comment, she, it was Sayna the elvin diplomat by the way, which is why I'm sure it was something important, she said that there was a tear in Ruwalk's aura. 'Like something forced it's was though it' was how she described it. Sounds like we might have had some sort of security breach to me,"

"Then you should be giving these theories to Karis, her responsibilities are security,"

Kai-stern sighed, letting Tetheus take more of his weight. "You know how Karis can be sometimes. She wants plenty of proof behind any theories, not speculations. I'm not saying she isn't good at her job, but I don't think she'd take this seriously until it's too late."

"I, on the other hand, will not?"

"Well I know you'll at least consider the option, and keep your eyes open," the blue Officer wearily rubbed his forehead. "I just wish I could _remember_ why I passed out originally. It's probably important to this whole mess,"

"You need rest," advised Tetheus, noting Kai-stern's frustration. "Reasoning is more difficult when you are tired."

"Fine," Kai-stern sighed. "You make a good point. I just hate lying around doing nothing. You have no idea how annoying it is."

**That Night**

**Library **

Putting aside another book, Alfeegi sighed. None of these medical journals had anything like what Sayna had described in them. And these were the journals of dozens of different doctors, ones attached to the court and visitors.

He had already read ten, and none of them had described anything close to what he was looking for. He rubbed his chin, maybe there _was_ no historical precedent, or perhaps he was just overreacting to what was a simple outbreak of the flu.

Still, he'd had it himself, and it had felt like… something had been forcing itself into his head, exactly as Sayna had described.

"Sir?" said a voice, and more light was cast onto the volume he had been looking over.

He looked up sharply, surprised to see how late it was.

His first thought was that a child had gotten into the library. Then on second glance Alfeegi realized it was simply a very short dragon. In fact, it was one of the Dragon Fighters that he vaguely recognized standing by one of the shelves holding a lantern. "Sorry to startle you sir," the Fighter said. "but it's rather late to be up reading. I'm the midnight watchman."

"I must have lost track of time," Alfeegi laid the book to the side, seeing that his candle had burned almost all the way down.

The Fighter came forward to peer down at the books he was reading. "What keeps you were so late sir? If I might be so impertinent as to ask."

And now Alfeegi had placed the Fighter. If he recalled correctly his name was Talic, he was one of Tetheus' Fighters. On first glance he could be a child, he was that short, but second glance took in the eyes, which weren't those of someone young. Strangely for a dragon his coloration wasn't very colorful, dark hair and eyes. But there was something about Talic, perhaps the way the other Fighters cast nervous looks at him or the way Karis refused to keep him on her security staff, that made it clear he was unusual.

"I was looking for some symptoms in these medical journals," he told him.

"Any luck, sir? Oh, I suppose that's a dumb question since your still looking this late."

"Exactly, all I've gotten so far is a _headache_,"

The Fighter, Talic, looked at him with what appeared to be some concern. "Maybe starting fresh in the morning would be the best course of action, sir?"

"Probably, now that you mention it," Alfeegi sighed and stood, too quickly it seemed; he felt a moment of dizziness, then, when it passed, he stacked the books he'd been looking at, lying them to the side of the desk. "Thank you for letting me know how late it was." He snuffed out his candle and made his way out of the library.

Talic watched him leave, then gave it a few more minutes to be sure that the White Officer had left. He'd been a bit worried when Alfeegi had recognized him, if Alfeegi remembered that he was never on security duty, then his story about being the night watchman would lose a great deal of credibility. His face was getting a little too familiar in the Castle. Maybe he needed to ask Captain Tetheus to send him out in the field for a few more months.

It was the Captain that had sent him in to see exactly what Alfeegi had been up to. Demons had very good hearing and Tetheus had easily heard Alfeegi leaving his rooms.

Soundlessly, Talic set his lantern on the desk and lifted the first of the heavy books the White Officer had been looking at. Quickly he scanned the first few pages of each book, memorizing authors and titles then placing each one exactly were it had previously been.

**End of Part 2**


	3. Chapter 3

**Headaches **

Dane Soar

Back sooner than usual due to a wonderfully efficient editor. This chapter's a little short, but things start speeding up soon! Please forgive the tecnical errors, 's forematting seems to be going a little haywire.

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**An Hour Later**

**Tetheus' Office **

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"It was only medical journals he was looking at?" said Tetheus, with a bit of surprise.

Talic nodded, leaning back in his chair across from Tetheus' desk, taking the cigarette from the recesses of his uniform and snapping his fingers in a simple fire spell to light it. "Yes, he thought that he could find something that would be comparable to Officer Ruwalk's condition. But since he was still looking at midnight, it would be safe to assume he didn't find anything." He blew out a stream of smoke. "But I have the titles of the tones memorized if you want them."

The Black Officer waved the smoke away laxly. "No, that's unnecessary. However, I had hoped Alfeegi had a suspicion about these collapses."

"So you share in Karis' theory that this isn't some random outbreak of illness, Captain? I must say, I'm glad. The other Officers are all well and good, Officer Kai-stern's deductive abilities are first-rate, but Officer Ruwalk is too trusting by far, Officer Alfeegi is a bit too hotheaded to be good at this kind of thing, and while Captain Karis is wonderfully good at security, she is so old fashioned that she tends to discount some perfectly probable ideas out of hand." Making a face, Talic aptly described his opinion of Captain Karis as he tapped a bit of ash from his the tip of his cigarette. "You think differently than them. It's your job, and I'm sure your military experience with demons helps."

To someone who didn't know the details, the conversation would seem a bit odd. Tetheus did not usually let his Fighters insult other Officers in front of him. But Talic wasn't any other Fighter, which was why he could get away with smoking in Tetheus' office.

Tetheus raised an eyebrow at him. "You have your own suspicions about what is going on, don't you?"

A smile appeared on Talic's face and he breathed out a column of smoke.

He was not a normal Fighter in that before he'd been one, he'd had another livelihood. One that involved murder. This had ended badly when the little assassin took a contract to assassinate the Dragon Lord. Luckily for Talic, Tetheus hadn't killed him but recruited him. The thought had been, who better than an assassin to catch future assassins?

Unfortunately Karis hadn't agreed, she was of the opinion of once a traitor always a traitor, and Talic stayed in Tetheus' forces. However, his experiences and skills were useful, especially in times like these.

"Oh, yes, Captain. I have many suspicions, but only one seems probable."

"Which is?"  
The smile grew a little more. "I knew this fellow when I was still an assassin, something of a rival of mine. A demon that specialized in possession."

"Meaning?"

"Well, being inside a mind would protect him from the Dragon Lord's shields, he could run rampant until he gets close enough to strike,"

"And who would be his target?"

That made Talic's grin disappear, the little dragon stubbed out his cigarette on the chair arm. "Don't be dim Captain, who else? Lord Lykouleon. Why else would an assassin go to all the trouble of sneaking into the Castle?"

With a nod, the Captain agreed with him. "I see, and this assassin would be in…?"

"Hard to know, the assassin, Kenen, could be in any of those Officers that have collapsed. Which is one of the side effects of possession, by the way; you don't force your way into someone's brain without frying a few things. My guess would be Officer Ruwalk at the moment, but," he shrugged. "who knows now? He could have moved on. My advice, oh Captain of mine, is to keep this to yourself for the moment; better not to mention anything and ruffle too many feathers. Might not want to make Kenen jump the gun and—" he drew a finger sharply across his throat. "anyone nearby."

"Very well, you are an expert in this area, I defer to your expertise," Tetheus said. "And now, for the time being, return to the garrison. Try not to let the other Fighters notice you returning."

"Yessir," Talic saluted, flicking his cigarette butt away.

He was about halfway to the door, Tetheus called to him. "And Talic?"

The small Fighter paused. "Captain?"

"Take the cigarette with you. And if I catch you smoking outside these walls…" he gave him a pointed look.

"Yessir," said Talic sweetly. "I would never, Captain." Though they both knew that was an outright lie. After retrieving the butt from the floor, Talic paused in the doorway. "And Captain?"

"Yes?"

"Be careful of Kenen. He's not too clever really, when it all comes down to it. If he can't see a way out, he's likely to just kill as many of those nearby as he can before he flees. Try not to be one of those nearby people, Captain, I'd hate to have to work under Captain Karis."

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**Unknown**

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Kenen was rapidly becoming frustrated. This host was almost as useless as the first two! Didn't anyone around here have enough endurance to handle his presence in their head? All most of his hosts had done so far was lay in bed, thinking themselves ill.

True a demon muscling it's way into one's head would make one a bit ill, but honestly, Kenen thought. Couldn't one of them do _something_? How was he supposed to get close to the Dragon Lord if his host wasn't going to cooperate?

This cursed anti demon shield was really dampening his power, normally he'd be able to practically puppet his host, now he was lucky if he could erase parts of their memory. Maybe if he really had to he could at times control a bit of his host, but the severe dampening of his power was really getting on his nerves.

According to his host he was a close friend of the Dragon Lord, but that was of no use to him if the Dragon Lord was still out of reach! It looked like he was going to have change hosts again.

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**Officer's Quarters**

**Next Day**

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"And you have no idea of why you passed out?" Karis probed.

A weary Ruwalk sighed. "None at all. I dozed off and then when I woke up Alfeegi had fallen out of bed. Don't ask, I don't know how that happened either. So I got up, my head was hurting I remember, and got him back in bad somehow. Then I stood up and—" he frowned. "funny, I don't actually remember what happened after that. I guess I must have passed out."

This drew a sigh from Karis too. "You know, barring a few minor details, that's exactly what happened to Kai-stern and Alfeegi. Either this is one hell of a disease or… or something else is going on that I'm missing completely."

Ruwalk shrugged. "I'm as baffled as you are. I'm having my own doubts that this is just some disease. After all, it's hit three Officers and no one else. If it was especially contagious, then why have none others shown symptoms? Alfeegi was in a whole ballroom of people who are all perfectly fine and Kai-stern was carried into the Castle and those who did it aren't falling over ill."

"That just makes it more difficult to figure out what's actually going on," glancing out the window Karis checked the time.

"Am I keeping you from something?" he raised an eyebrow jokingly.

She laughed. "It's nothing, I just have to make sure I'm not late for that meeting."

"Meeting?"

"You know, I have to meet with Lord Lykouleon, we're going over the lists of new recruits. It's time to decide which can actually make decent Fighters and which greenhorns are going home."

Ruwalk laughed. "You and Tetheus have no doubt already worked it out between you!"

"Well, that is true. But it's a sort of ritual after all these years. Besides, last minute changes are sometimes still made to the stay and go list. It's no formal ritual."

There was a small change in Ruwalk's face, a flicker of something. "So it's just you and my old friend Lykouleon? No other hangers on or anything? I can never remember how it goes."

"Yes, it's just the two of us," she noticed that Ruwalk got a strange look again. He was smiling. "What's so funny?"

"…I actually don't know," he put fingers to his mouth and was surprised to find himself smiling. "I have no idea. Look, I need to tell you something," Ruwalk gestured for her to lean closer. "it's really important,"

A little perplexed, but she leaned toward him to listen.

Two minutes later Tetheus was heading down the corridor when he head someone utter half a scream.

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**End of Part 3**


	4. Chapter 4

**Headaches **

Dane Soar

Things start to pick up! Thanks to the reviewers, it's great hearing from you. Seriously.

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**Officer's Quarters**

**--**

Ruwalk had gestured for her to lean closer, so, unsuspecting, that was exactly what Karis had done. Slowly the Yellow Officer rolled up his sleeve. Perplexed she saw the bandage on his arm.

"You got that in sword training, didn't you?" she asked.

"Exactly, but look here," he unwound the bandage from his arm in a few quick movements, holding out the limb for her inspection.

Still confused, Karis leaned forward, trying to see something wrong with the wound. Suddenly Ruwalk drew his nails sharply over the scab, breaking it open. Before the Red Officer had time to so much as react he swung his arm into her face.

The bleeding wound had made contact with her mouth, which was open in surprise. That was when she managed half a scream, before it was abruptly cut off.

Ruwalk fell face first onto the floor, like a marionette when someone has let go of its strings. Karis, on the other hand jerked upright, her body going stiff, then she fell backwards until her head hit the wall hard enough to raise a lump.

This seemed to bring her around some, as she seemed to gather enough strength to stagger to the door and, after gripping the frame for a moment, stumbled unsteadily into the hall.

--

**Hallway**

**--**

Tetheus ran down the hall, following the sound of the scream. Why hadn't he thought to post more guards around the officer's rooms, knowing that there was a possible assassin on the loose? Why? How short sighted!

At the very first door, someone ran headlong into him, almost knocking him off his feet. Putting out a hand, Tetheus steadied himself against the wall, holding an arm around the person lest they fall over. They were clinging to the front of his uniform desperately, but when they looked up, he knew who they were at once.

"Karis, what happened?"

The older woman seemed dazed, her eyes a little too blank, and she was shaking. "…I… it grabbed me… I jerked back… hit my head… Ruwalk he… grabbed…" suddenly she shuddered violently. "…Ruwalk's _fallen_… that's… that's all…"

"Was that you who screamed?"

"I was… startled… he was just talking to me a… moment before he fell over…" Karis shook her head, as if she was trying to get rid of an annoying sound.

Carefully, Tetheus let her go, backing away just a little. He frowned. Had the assassin changed hosts?

Letting go of her had been a mistake, because a moment later Karis clutched her head and collapsed.

**--**

**Kai-stern's Quarters**

**--**

In the window seat Kai-stern stared at his glass of wine without really seeing it. It appeared to be completely untouched, beads of condensation forming on the crystal.

He kept casting his mind back to when he had passed out, running it through his mind over and over. But Kai-stern was starting to remember something more before he'd lost consciousness.

First he had stopped on the path.

Second he had looked up at the sun to judge the time.

Third he had shaded his eyes to see the sun better.

Fourth something, an inner instinct maybe, had warned him of danger.

Fifth he had spin around, purely on a gut feeling.

Sixth he had seen…

What was it he had seen?

Kai-stern sighed in frustration.

There had been someone, or something, standing on that path behind him, he was positive of it now at the least, his hazy memory was sure. But that blow over the head had scrambled his recollections a little, he couldn't see the face of the person who had hit him. It was like there was a hole right there in his head. How frustrating.

For some reason though, Kai-stern kept thinking scales.

But that couldn't be right.

He sipped from the wineglass. The wine had gone warm.

**--**

**Karis's Quarters**

**--**

Grimly, Sayna took her hand away from the Red Officer's forehead.

"The same?" Alfeegi asked glumly.

"Almost exactly the same as Officer Ruwalk, except for her head injury. I sense exactly the same rip in her aura." She thought for a moment. "I would wonder if you, Officer Alfeegi have that same symptom too, as you were also ill?"

"It's a possibility," Alfeegi said. "but how would I even know?"

She regarded him for a moment with calm blue eyes before replying. "I would be able to sense it in one of you, if I could just…" she held up her hands and when Alfeegi nodded permission, touched fingers to the back of his hand.

After a moment Sayna nodded decisively. "It is healed over for the most part, but you too have signs of a rent in your aura."

"That isn't good," he mused, then a idea struck him. "Test Tetheus over there," Alfeegi nodded to the other Officer, who had been keeping out of things up until this point. "he is the only Officer now who hasn't fallen ill, maybe he won't have that tear and we can confirm that it's definitely caused by this sickness."

Alfeegi noticed the tense second as the elf and the demon looked at one another. Then wordlessly, Tetheus held out a hand to her, palm down.

Cautiously, as if it might burn her, Sayna touched his skin with only two fingers. But almost at once she shook her head. "No tear."

"Have either of you thought," a voice said from the doorway, "that maybe the reason that Tetheus among us hasn't been sick is because he's always running around doing things all day instead of sitting behind a desk like the rest of us."

On seeing the speaker was Kai-stern, Alfeegi scowled. "I thought you were supposed to be resting."

"I thought you were too," he retorted. "besides, I don't feel sick anymore so there's hardly any point in lying around. I heard Ruwalk had collapsed again, along with Karis, and came to investigate."

Changing the subject before Kai-stern could goad him into an all out rage —something he was depressingly good at— Alfeegi said: "And what you said before can't possibly be true, Karis is almost as active as Tetheus and she's unwell now too."

"But Karis is… richer in years than the rest of us," Kai-stern pointed out. "you have to consider that too."

"Surely age can't be a factor," Alfeegi argued.

As the two discussed on, the healer Sayna felt her gaze drawn to the dark demon who was leaning against the wall. He looked thoughtful.

Finally Kai-stern broke off discussing, or bickering, it was hard to tell between Alfeegi and him sometimes, he spoke to Tetheus: "Oh, and could I talk to you for a minute, in private?"

With a nod the Black Officer showed his consent and followed the other as he left the room.

**--**

**Hallway**

**--**

Once more they walked several halls over before Kai-stern spoke, but this time he seem much recovered and needed no support. This was an out of the way corridor that very few people used because it didn't actually lead anywhere.

"You have alcohol on your breath," Tetheus observed succinctly.

"If you had been trying to remember the one thing your mind seemed determined to keep from you, you would want a drink too," Kai-stern told him matter-of-factly.

"And?"

"And I think I know something of some importance. I got a brief look at the one who hit me over the head and for some reason I keep thinking scales. Which draws me to the conclusion that it was a demon." And Kai-stern caught the momentary flicker of expression over Tetheus' face. "You already know something, don't you?"

"I have suspicions."

"Oh, I have no doubt you do! But you realize that with Karis out of commission you will have to pick through this mystery all yourself? Unless," he read Tetheus' impassive face and took off his glasses, polishing them industriously on the hem of his tunic. "Never mind, actually, I should have guessed that you already were taking steps to deal with situation. But if you need any help I can offer," he put the glasses back on and grinned. "feel free to ask. I know I, for one, would like to see an end to this oddness."

**--**

**Unknown**

**--**

There were no words to express how frustrated Kenen was at the moment. Here he was, finally in a host who should be able to lead him to the Dragon Lord and it was too weak to take him there! Was _nothing_ going to go his way?

It seemed he would have to stick it out in this host and hope he didn't cause too much damage that would be noticed. With any luck, this woman would go and meet with the Dragon Lord just as planned.

But luck was one thing Kenen seemed to be lacking on this job.

**--**

**End of Part 4**


	5. Chapter 5

**Headaches**

Dane Soar

A rather shorter than usual chapter, sorry about that.Is it just me or did things take a turn for the strange here? Sorry guys but I'm going on a trip for three weeks so I can't update for a while. But I'll be back before Aug I promice!

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**Tetheus' Office**

**That Night**

**--**

"Sir, I really think this thing has gone on for too long," said Talic. He was smoking again, but wasn't relaxing in his chair this time. This time it looked like at any moment he might leap up and pace the room. And Talic never paced. "I don't think you can let the assassin wander around anymore. At this rate he's going to kill someone, and I can bet you a good amount of money that it won't be who he's supposed to. Kenen is a moron."

Tetheus raised an eyebrow. "Are you suggesting that I tell Lord Lykouleon? I would prefer to avoid a panic."

"Milord Lykouleon or Lady Raseleane panic? I doubt it. But I see your point. They won't, but other people might. Still, should we at least give him a hint that someone is out for him?" Talic frowned at his cigarette. "He should at least know."

"Not at the moment. We will tell him later, but not now. The less people who know the truth, the easier the situation will be to contain."

"But—" Talic took one look at his Captain's expression and stubbed out his cigarette angry. "Fine. You know best, Captain… I guess. What are you going to do about Captain Karis? From what you said, she's probably playing host to our dim friend."

"I'll speak to her later,"

"Just be careful, sir."

"I think I know how to do this by now, Talic."

After a pause, Talic ventured: "Sir? I think he's getting better. At working around Lord Lykouleon's shields I mean. The recovery time for the victims is getting shorter. Officer Kai-stern was unconscious for almost a week, Officer Alfeegi three days, Officer Ruwalk a day and a half, and Captain Karis is awake already after barely a day. And if Kenen is getting better, than he's going to be have more power to puppet his host. Which makes him more dangerous. Be careful."

"I shall try. Now go back to the others, you have no doubt been missed. And take your cigarette with you when you leave."

"Of course sir."

"And Talic?"

"Sir?"

"I'm reminding you again not to smoke outside these walls."

"Yessir." Talic said sweetly. "Whatever you say, sir."

**--**

**Karis' Quarters **

**Next Morning**

**--**

Settling into the chair next to Karis' bedside, Tetheus handed her a sheaf of papers. "These are from Alfeegi."

"With love? Oh boy, budgets, just what I need to pass the time." said Karis.

"I'm sure he has your best interests at heart. You wouldn't like to get behind in your paperwork."

"Yes, let's not let my illness keep me from doing my paperwork. Besides that, though, did you have any other reason for visiting me?"

"Actually, yes," Tetheus considered her for a moment. She didn't seemed to be acting unusual but he still had to be careful. "As you are in ill health at the moment, I have agreed to meet with Lord Lykouleon in your place. I, too, have trained the new recruits and know them as well as you. Between Lord Lykouleon and I, I believe that we can manage.

Something in Karis' face changed subtly. "I see. So you and Lord Lykouleon shall be meeting then? I suppose that is for the best, considering my condition."

And it must be noted that Tetheus had been watching Karis very carefully, waiting for her to do something out of the ordinary. But no matter how prepared he was, he would have still been taken by surprise by what the demon inside her did.

The older woman did not so much as leap from the bed as tumble, her legs tangling in the sheets. He caught her arm so she wouldn't fall to the floor, an act that turned out to be a mistake.

She swung around, locked her arms around his neck. For one mad moment he thought she was going to try to strangle him, and then…

…then Karis kissed him.

And the world went dark.

**--**

**Kai-stern's Quarters**

**--**

The Blue Officer was spending a lot of time sitting in his window seat with a wineglass in hand. Not that he didn't usually spend a great deal of time with wineglass in hand anyway, but that wasn't while he was trying to remember a bit of his past that seemed oddly illusive. It was like picking at a scab, he couldn't leave that memory alone.

At the moment he was joined by Ruwalk, who was dodging work, and had his feet propped up on his dresser, tilting his chair back on two legs as he read. Besides Alfeegi, none of them were especially keen to return to work. Headaches still stuck around.

Kai-stern cast his eyes to the world beyond the window. Far below, a battalion of Dragon Fighters were drilling, a sergeant yelled the steps so loudly he was almost purple in the face. Those would be the new recruits then, otherwise the sergeant wouldn't have to be yelling so much.

Farther along, a pair of courtiers were riding on Darna-back, chatting to each other.

Though when he first came to work for the Dragon Lord the sight of the creatures had been disconcerting, by now he saw the benefits of Darnas verses the horses the human kingdoms used.

They could run farther, faster, and were more intelligent than any horse. Plus those scales were much tougher than…

Those scales…

Scales…

And abruptly, it was as if a veil had lifted from his mind, he finally saw the memory that he had been searching for.

"That's it!" he cried, leaping from his seat. The wineglass was forgotten, it dropped from his fingers and it was the sound of it shattering almost as much as his sudden outburst that gained Ruwalk's instant attention.

It wasn't like Kai-stern to waste good wine.

"What's it?"

"I know what happened. Back on that path, I mean."

"What, when you got attacked?" Ruwalk lowered his chair onto all its legs, putting his book aside.

"Yes. I knew that there was a part I was missing, just a little bit that I couldn't remember all the way. Because when I turned around on that path, there was a demon behind me. That's why I kept thinking scales, it was a lizard like demon. It hit me over the head before I could react, then…"

"What happened next?"

The Blue Officer frowned. "Here's where is gets interesting. It grabbed my head and then… he was in my head. I can't think of a better way to put it."

"Then?"

"I passed out." he said.

"We need to go to Karis with this. Or, no, she's sick, we can go to Tetheus."

But Kai-stern caught his arm. "That might not be a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Think for a moment. I've only just been able to remember this, that demon must have messed with my mind. That means he's not in my head anymore. If you count passing out as a symptom of possession then—"

"Alfeegi," said Ruwalk, the dots connecting in his head. "he blacked the day after he visited you. He's the one with the demon in his head now?"

"No," Kai-stern shook his head. "think some more. And suppose there was no sickness."

"Okay… well, I passed out when I was sitting next to Alfeegi. So I had it for a while, that explains the headache. But it can't be in me because Karis is 'sick' now. Do you think she is the one possessed?"

"That's the way I see it. So far the demon hasn't passed to anyone who wasn't an Officer, and Tetheus hasn't shown any symptoms, so it must be in Karis. You know, for some reason I'm getting a feeling the it isn't an it. More of a he. Must be from it, him, being in my head."

Ruwalk rubbed his forehead. "Okay, we have a demon possessing head of Security. Why? He's an assassin I'm guessing, after all, why else would a demon bother? Who would he be after?"

"Lord Lykouleon, of course."

"Oh." Ruwalk took this in for a moment. "So what are we going to do about it?"

"I haven't the faintest idea, but I think first we need to find Alfeegi."

**--**

**End of Part 5**


	6. Chapter 6

**Headaches**

Dane Soar

I'm back with a new chapter for you, hope you enjoy it, things get _interesting_ from this point on.

**--**

**Karis' Quarters**

**--**

As it turned out the darkness only came for a moment.

And then Tetheus was standing here, next to the bed. He couldn't remember exactly what had brought this about.

Very strange.

There was a pounding at the back of his skull.

He looked down. Karis had fallen onto the floor, she must have rolled over in her sleep. Kneeling he pulled he back into her bed, there was no sense in leaving her just lying on the ground.

And, feeling distinctly out of sorts, Tetheus left. Perhaps he should mention Karis' fall to someone, that healer maybe.

But for some reason, that thought seemed oddly hard to hang onto.

**--**

**Alfeegi's Office**

**--**

A very annoyed Alfeegi closed an account ledger. He couldn't focus, he'd added up the last figure three times and each time it had turned out differently. Definitely time to take a break.

He chewed thoughtfully on the end of his pen. Not a usual habit of his, that. Pen chewing. Very destructive for the pen.

Above all things Alfeegi was methodical, it was part of what made him such a good White Officer and it bothered him that there seemed to be bits of time that were a complete blank. That was not right.

A creak from the metal of his pen reminded him he was still absentmindedly chewing it. He put it down before he broke it.

There was the night he had went to visit Kai-stern, and also he was certain he had woken up another time when Ruwalk had been still watching with him. But both events had strange blanks in them.

"You look annoyed." said Kai-stern from the doorway.

"How _very_ perceptive of you." Alfeegi said, not bothering to disguise the irritation in his voice.

"We thought we should have a talk with you," Ruwalk slipped in and stole the only free chair, leaving Kai-stern to close the door behind him and lean against the wall.

"I have a lot of work to do." Alfeegi pointed out. "And so do you two, may I point out."

"I think that threats to the Dragon Lord's life trump paperwork," Kai-stern pointed out.

"What—" he started.

But Ruwalk cut him off. "No time to explain in full. The short version of what we've understood is that a demon has been possessing Officers to get close enough to Lykouleon to kill him. There was no sickness going between us, the blackouts and other symptoms were from the demon. That's it, in a nutshell."

"That's why there were some strange gaps in my memory, and what caused those rips in auras. I didn't look in any of the books on possession." Alfeegi mused. "As much as I don't like to admit it, you two are right. This _is_ more important than paperwork. Where is the demon right now?"

"In Karis," Kai-stern said, without doubt. "And now that you're on board, we need to get Tetheus in on this."

**--**

**Tetheus' Office**

**Afternoon**

**--**

"Ummm, sir?" asked Talic, sitting curiously in the chair in front of the desk. "Is there a reason you called me here? It's sword drills, you don't usually call me out of something noticeable like that."

"Yes, I wanted to speak to you regarding the assassin situation," Tetheus said. "Have you discussed this with anyone?"

"…No, sir. We agreed not to." Talic frowned. "Don't you remember, Captain?"

"Of course I do. So you've told no one else. Not even one of the other Officers?"

His frown deepening, Talic said: "Nossir, of course not. We discussed this just last night."

"I see. So only the two of us know this." Tetheus rose from his seat. "That is for the best." He came around the side of his desk.

"What is for the best, sir?" Talic asked.

Tetheus held out a hand to the side, summoning his sword.

"Captain?" said Talic, a note of uncertainty creeping into his voice.

Tetheus took the sword in both hands.

"What are you… doing, si—" Talic saw the lightning move and dove to the side. Instead of impaling him, the sword sank into the cushion of the chair, biting into the wood beneath it.

Realization came to the former assassin in a flash. Of course, he should have seen it, Kenen wasn't inside Karis' mind anymore, he had passed into Captain Tetheus'! One glimpse of the Captain's memories would be enough to alert Kenen, even if the slimy demon didn't know Talic's face!

He was in trouble. He himself had, not too long ago, said that Kenen's ability to puppet his hosts was getting better. Obviously it was stronger than he could have ever guessed.

With one pull, Tetheus yanked his sword free of the chair.

Talic bolted.

There was no shame in running, someone needed to know about the demon and if he died right there, the knowledge would also die with him. He had to get to another Officer or even another Fighter would do in this pinch. Whoever it was he just had to do it before the Captain caught up with him!

Out into the hallway he ran. It was empty. Into the next hallway over. No one there. The next hallway. Absolutely no one.

Where on earth were all the people?! There should have been maids, Fighters, servants, nobles, people everywhere! It was a big Castle, but not that big!

Talic was about to round another corner when his breath was suddenly gone. He willed his body to keep running, to keep going, but for some reason, it wouldn't obey. And there was a strange feeling around his stomach.

Talic looked down.

A piece of metal that seemed to have grown from his stomach, square in the middle of a dark stain that was spreading across his tunic. The metal was sharp… forged… it was a sword blade. One he knew too. That was his Captain's sword.

And now it hurt. It hurt like hell.

When Tetheus withdrew the blade, Talic's knees went, he fell against the wall. Turning, the former assassin glared at the Officer that was possessed by his rival.

Raising the bloody blade for a final blow Tetheus, or rather Kenen, paused. Then dematerialized his sword away. "Actually, I think that will do. After all, no one will probably find you until it is too late."

"…that's what… you think…" Talic gritted out, his hands were at the wound in his stomach trying to stem flow. He wasn't having much luck and he could feel the wound on his back bleeding freely too. So he didn't have much time.

As soon as the assassin so much as looked the other way, he was running for help, wounds or no wounds.

But Kenen had other plans. He sank his foot into Talic's stomach.

Talic screamed.

And doubled over.

Only _then_ did Kenen leave.

Unfortunately, this scrapped his running plan, Talic could tell he was loosing consciousness, darkness was edging in at the corners of his vision.

He seemed to lay there for hours, but it could have been that long. Then the voices came from down the corridor.

"I could have sworn that was a scream."

"Ruwalk, you're hearing things."

"No, Kai-stern, I was sure it was from over there."

"We need to talk to Tetheus, we don't have time to wander around." That was Officer Alfeegi's voice, Talic recognized it.

"Indulge me for a moment." said Officer Ruwalk's voice, which was getting louder. "With what we just figured out, I don't think we should ignore any—"

"…oh gods." whispered Officer Alfeegi's voice, from not far away.

They had seen him.

Only tatters of the word were visible to Talic through the spreading darkness, but he saw Officer Kai-stern kneeling by him, felt the hand on his shoulder.

"What happened to you?" demanded Officer Kai-stern, which seemed oddly far away. "Fighter, _report_!"

There was no other one word that would have brought the fading Fighter to more attention than 'report'. Every Fighter had that one ingrained into their minds.

Talic's hand twitched as the instinctive salute failed completely. "… demon…" he spluttered.

"In who?" demanded Officer Ruwalk's voice. "Who is the demon in? Karis?"

"…Tetheus…in Cap…tain… Teth…e—" Talic coughed blood.

As darkness ate everything he could faintly hear the conversation going on above his head.

"Did he say _Tetheus_?"

"Of course he did! Don't your ears work, Ruwalk?"

"Shut up Alfeegi, this isn't the time. We need a healer, he's bleeding everywhere."

"And where are we supposed to find one, Kai-stern? Do you have one in your pocket perhaps?"

"No, but I know where to find one close by."

"Who?"

"Sayna. Her chambers are only a hallway over."

"Then go get…"

There might have been more said, but Talic didn't hear it.

**--**

**End of Part 6**


	7. Chapter 7

**Headaches**

Dane Soar

At last, someone speaks! I was getting a little worried. Please review and enjoy the chapter!

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**Sayna's Quarters**

**Several Hours Later **

**--**

When the faerie healer finally rose from the side of the gravely wounded Dragon Fighter, she was grim. "It seems many of your folk get into trouble on a regular basis."

"How badly is he hurt?" Ruwalk asked. Alfeegi, Kai-stern, and he occupied the couch in the ambassador's room. The wounded Dragon had been laid on another couch, across the room.

Sayna sat down next to the Fighter. "It was a deep wound, in one side and right out the other. I've healed the internal damage and managed to close both wounds, but they could very easily be reopened. When he wakes he shouldn't move for a few weeks.

"This Fighter was very lucky however, in that not only did you find him before he lost a fatal amount of blood, but whatever went through him missed his spine, though only by a few inches. I can't cure paralysis."

"That's some good news at least," said Kai-stern, with a sigh. "Now if only we knew who he was."

But Alfeegi was looking thoughtful. "I think I do."

"Who is he?" demanded Ruwalk at once.

"I spoke to him not too long ago, he's one of Tetheus' Fighters, Talic. Which when you consider he said that Tetheus was the one possessed makes this interesting."

"Who do you think did that to him?" asked Ruwalk.

"Think about it." said Kai-stern.

"You said that before, I'm starting to really dislike it."

"I know, but think. That wound looks like it came from a sword, a big one at that. And this Talic is one of _Tetheus'_ Fighters. What Officer is known for his expertise with the sword?"

"Tetheus." realized Alfeegi. "He really _is_ possessed then. And he must have stabbed this Fighter to keep him from warning anyone."

"Because if we hadn't see him we would still be thinking Karis was the one with the demon in her head." added Ruwalk.

"Demon?" Sayna asked curiously. "There's a _demon_ in the Castle?"

Thankfully, the Fighter stirred at that moment, interrupting could have been an awkward explanation. Sayna stood and let the Officers take her place.

"…where's… this?" the Fighter asked, somewhat blearily.

"You're safe," Ruwalk told him. "the Officers are here."

If this was supposed to put the Fighter at ease, it failed. He sat up sharply, but then winced, clutched his wound, and had to sit back. "Captain Tetheus?" he demanded.

"Not here," said Kai-stern at once. "and he doesn't know you're here."

"A demon is in the Castle! He's been possessing Officers to get close to the Dragon—"

"We know." interrupted Ruwalk.

This stopped him short. "Err…you do?"

"Well, we know that there's a demon doing possessing. But we didn't know it had moved on from Karis."

"Maybe it would be better if you started from the beginning…umm, Talic isn't it?" asked Kai-stern. "It'll be shorter all around than just guessing back and forth."

Nodding in agreement, Talic began. "Captain Tetheus suspected that there was something wrong with this situation, he asked me for my thoughts on it."

"Why you?" Alfeegi interrupted.

"I studied a lot about assassins," Talic said, rather too quickly. "and before I was recruited I knew a few."

For some reason Ruwalk coughed at that. The other too Officers looked curiously at him and he waved them off. They hadn't been in the ballroom when _that_ had happened.

But Talic went on as if he hadn't heard him. "When he described the events I remembered an assassin I knew by the name of Kenen. He liked to put himself into the minds of those close to his mark."

"So he controls the ones he possesses?" asked Kai-stern. "And removes the memories of himself when he leaves them?"

"Exactly. The Captain wanted to keep this situation as quiet as possible, so as not to make a panic. And as Captain Karis doesn't like speculations, we couldn't go to her with this information."

"If I might make an interjection," Sayna began and continued when Kai-stern nodded at her to go on; "Am I correct in presuming that this demon you speak of is the reason for the rents I have been sensing in the Officer's auras?"

"Yes," said Ruwalk.

"And that this demon currently resides in Captain Tetheus' mind?"

"Yes."

"As a healer, I feel that it is important to point out that technically, that isn't possible."

Alfeegi frowned. "What do you mean?"

"A demon can't possess a demon. At least, not without awful side-effects."

"Well, Tetheus isn't completely a demon anymore," pointed out Kai-stern. "but what sort of side-effects are you thinking of?"

She thought for a moment. "The mind would be damaged, and as the two minds fight back and forth it's very possible that the body would be torn apart. Literarly I'm afraid."

"Are there any ways you know of to separate the demon from the Captain?" asked Talic.

"None that I know of, however with some time among the tomes in the library here I might be able to find a few ways."

"We might not have very much time," mused Kai-stern. "so the sooner you could start the better for all of us."

"Of course. I never thought that things in the capital would be so very _eventful_. If you have need of me, look in the library. " Sayna rose and bobbed a polite curtsy to the three Officers before she left.

"Umm, sorry to interrupt, Officers," Talic said politely. "but if you're going to do something about the Captain, I'd like to help."

Alfeegi shook his head. "You're wounded, Fighter. We can manage from here on. You should rest."

"Sir, I can't do that! Kenen is… he's dangerous. I know his ways, I can help you!" Talic struggled to rise. He managed to sit up but when he went to stand he winced and was forced to sit, clutching his stomach.

"Stay here." Kai-stern told him. "We'll keep your offer in mind, but at the moment all your good for is healing up. So go to it. In the meantime, we need to bring Karis in on this. The more heads in this the better. Come on Alfeegi," the two headed off.

"Why are you so determined?" Ruwalk asked Talic. "I know Tetheus did you a favor back then, but you don't actually owe him so much that you have to half kill yourself!"

Sweating with pain Talic said: "I own Captain Tetheus _everything_. You were in that ballroom when I tried to kill Lord Lykouleon, you must remember. You know what I once was. The Captain could have killed me! He should have! But he didn't, he and Lord Lykouleon saved my life. I was a malicious assassin that didn't deserve mercy. But the Captain gave me that. Now he's in trouble and it's from an assassin. That at least I can help with. Please. I've got a hell of a debt to repay to your Dragon Lord and the Captain."

"Fine," Ruwalk put a hand on the Fighter's shoulder. "You make a good point. Come on, I'll help you get to Karis' room, Kai-stern and Alfeegi are probably busy plotting already."

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**Balcony Off Ballroom**

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Lord Lykouleon knew something was up.

He was an intelligent man, and could quite easily put together the illness outbreaks and the rather frantic scrambling he'd seen his Officers do. And of course it wasn't just the overflow of work that they were worried about, Lykouleon knew. There was something else that was setting his people running about.

He sighed, looking out over the grounds.

"What's wrong, dear?" asked Lady Raseleane, resting her hand lightly on his arm. "It's not like you to daydream."

"Oh, it's nothing, dear. I was just wondering when my Officers are going to tell me what's going on."

"I'm sure they'll get around to it eventually," she said.

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**Karis' Quarters**

**Two Hours Later**

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It didn't take as long to bring Karis up to speed as one would think. She was rather indignant about being left in the dark about the assassin, but conceded that she would probably not have believed them at first.

"I do like my evidence," she admitted from her bed, kept there by doctor's orders. "running off with some half proven theory has been the death of too many of my Fighters." She glowered at Talic, who was in the farther chair from her, but didn't comment on his presence otherwise.

And they tried to hash out a plan between them.

Two hours into it, Sayna rejoined them, triumphant.

"I was told you were here by one of the servants," she explained. "I think I've found something that might help." Taking a piece of paper from her sleeve the elf explained. "After researching all the methods to remove a demon from its host, this was the safest one that I could find. But it does have its risks…" she paused, then handed the paper to Karis.

The Red Officer went white. "'Risks' is putting it mildly."

"What is it?" asked Alfeegi impatiently. She handed the paper to him. As he scanned it, Ruwalk and Kai-stern read over his shoulders. Even Talic leaned forward though he was too far away to see.

Reactions were mixed.

Ruwalk's mouth fell open in shock.

Kai-stern sucked in a surprised breath.

Alfeegi actually managed to find words. "That's insane!"

"What does it say?" demanded Talic, impatience getting the better of him. "What does it say?"

Four still shocked expressions turned to him.

"Err," he said. "on second thought, do I want to know?"

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**End of Part 7**

**Only a few parts left!**


	8. Chapter 8

Headaches

Dane Soar

Only one more chapter left!

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**Unknown**

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This host was better than the last one, Kenen was sure, but there was something wrong with his connection.

He was beginning to feel _very_ strange.

What was wrong with this Tetheus? Why was this host resisting him, the most skilled mind stealer in the land, when none of the other Dragons he had possessed he given him half this much trouble. The mind was strange, it was like he kept running into solid walls every time he tried to go deeper in.

True, he could puppet Tetheus much more easily, but there was something that was giving Kenen a headache. And he was in a host, at the moment he didn't even have a head of his own, so that was saying something!

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**A Few Hours Later**

**Hallway**

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When he saw Ruwalk hurrying up to him, Lykouleon knew that something was wrong. His friend had worry making his face appear older. Ruwalk pulled him to the side and began muttering speedily in his ear.

There were a few: "What?"s from Lykouleon, soon replaced by more fervent: "_What!"_s then a: "I see," and a: "Of course," grimly, Ruwalk went on. There was a: "Surely you aren't—" that was cut off and after a few minutes Lykouleon said: "I understand. This is a more complex situation that I could have guessed. Are you sure this is the way you wish to proceed?"

"It's the safest solution we've come up with," said Ruwalk with a sigh. "The other Officers and I have spoken about this at length amongst ourselves. I think we've hammered out as many of the details as we can."

"This will be dangerous," pointed out Lykouleon.

"Mostly for you."

"That is true… but as you said, this is the safest solution possible. Well, the next few hours are going to be interesting indeed."

"That's one way to put it, Lykouleon."

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**An Hour Later**

**Hallway**

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At last, the time for the meeting to decide which new recruit would become a Fighter had come. Tetheus wasn't sure why he was so anxious to get to the meeting and the exact reason he was doing it instead of Karis escaped him. Which was odd, usually his memory was a bit more accurate than that.

He'd think about it later. Now he had better pick up the pace or he would be late. Hurrying down the hallway, he saw Kai-stern standing by an open door.

"It's in here," Kai-stern said. "there's three ambassadors in the general meeting room right now so Lord Lykouleon decided to move it here."

"Thank you for telling me,"

"Sure," there was a slightly strange look on Kai-stern's face, one that Tetheus couldn't quite place. "go on in, the Lord is already in there."

With a nod, the Black Officer did just that.

Closing the door after him Kai-stern leaned against it with a brief sigh. This much of the plan had gone off without a hitch. There were no ambassadors in the larger meeting room of course, but this room was necessary.

From around the corner, Karis walked casually, perhaps too casually. She glanced at Kai-stern who nodded. At once Karis dropped the act and waved at someone around the corner.

A dozen Dragon Fighters quietly came around the corner to gather around the closed door.

"No problems?" asked Karis in a low voice.

"None. You alright?" Kai-stern said.

She nodded, but her face was gray. The possession had hit her harder than any of the others, probably because of her age. While technically she should have been bedridden, Karis had said she'd be damned if she was sitting this out.

The forces waited, ready for the signal.

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**Hiding**

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There was only room for three in the hiding place. This was unfortunate as it was the only good hiding place in the meeting room.

But the Officers didn't dare put more people in the room in case the assassin was tipped off and struck prematurely. That could be disastrous.

The three held themselves ready for the right time, limbs tense, ears pricked, every nerve alive for the time when it came.

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**The Meeting Room**

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As the door closed behind him, Tetheus saw the Dragon Lord look up from his notes and smile. "Ah, Tetheus, there you are. Sit down, let us begin our work." He gestured at the chair on the other side of the table.

But Tetheus remained standing. Something had changed about him in a subtly sinister way. The look in his eyes was not that of the person that Lykouleon had known. The man held out a hand, summoning his sword.

"Oh," said Lykouleon, lowering the hand. "If that's the case then, hello assassin. I would like my Black Officer back."

"You'll have him back," Kenen the assassin said, in a voice that wasn't Tetheus', "in due time. After your death."

"I don't particularly like that agreement." Lykouleon still sat in his chair, he didn't seem to be as worried as a person facing an assassin alone should be.

"I'm the one holding the sword. I get to make the rules."

"Really?" said Lykouleon unruffled. "Do you now?"

The assassin frowned, there was something wrong, why was this dragon so calm?

That was when Alfeegi, Ruwalk, and Talic threw the heavy draperies that had previously flanked the windows, aside. They held weapons ready and each, even Alfeegi, looked ready to use them. Within moments they had placed themselves between the assassin and the Dragon Lord.

From a pocket Talic drew a handful of pebbles and hurled them over Kenen's shoulder, at the door where they hit with a harsh patter. When Kenen turned to flee the door burst open. The Dragon Fighters and the remaining Officers poured into the room, cutting off escape.

"This is it," said Ruwalk. "we know you're in there demon. Give up Tetheus and surrender."

The assassin laughed, he raised his sword. "After all this? There's no way." He struck in an explosion of movement.

Kenen slammed his arm into Alfeegi with such force he sent him into the table and through it in a splintering of wood. Rushing past him, toward the Dragon Lord, who had no weapon but hurried to summon one, Kenen's path was blocked by Talic, who had darted in front of him.

But the possessed Tetheus simply blocked the small Fighter's first sword blow and punched him in the stomach with the other hand. His face going white, Talic dropped his sword and went to his knees as his reopened wound bled around his fingers. He was clubbed over the back of the head with Kenen's sword hilt and fell to the floor.

Then Ruwalk grabbed Tetheus' arm, he seemed unwilling now to use his sword on a friend, which was a costly mistake. With a roar Kenen gave a heave and threw Ruwalk into the air. The Yellow Officer threw through the air and impacted with the window that shattered as Ruwalk hit it. He flew out into the open air the fell to the ground below with a cry of alarm.

All three of the ones who had stood between Kenen and Lord Lykouleon had been eliminated. Kenen turned to the Dragon Lord with upraised sword.

But Kenen froze suddenly. Someone had struck him from behind.

It wasn't Ruwalk, thrown through the window.

It wasn't Talic, in pain on the floor.

It wasn't Karis, stuck behind all the Fighters.

It wasn't Kai-stern, too far away to do anything.

It wasn't even the Fighters, most of whom were rooted to the spot with shock.

It was Alfeegi, who had risen from the remains of the table, picked up his sword and struck, plunging his sword into Tetheus' back.

The assassin turned to face the White Officer. "…how…you…?" one hand went to the sword and drew it slowly from his back.

Alfeegi's eyes fixed on his own bloody blade, as if surprised at his own action.

With a harsh laugh, Talic levered himself up from the floor a few inches. "Turnabout is fair play you son-of-a-Darna! Now get out of that body, slime!"

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**End of Part 8**


	9. Chapter 9

**Headaches**

Dane Soar

The final chapter and I'm a bit sad to see this one end, it was a good run. Well if you've been reading this far, thanks and please leave a review on the way out! DK isn't a ghost town, after all.

And a big thanks to NSW, whose reviews really kept me going. Also a thousand million cookies to my editor, who deserves every one.

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**Meeting Room**

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From behind the Fighters, Sayna pushed her way through, quickly kneeling next to where Kenen had fallen. She hastily put her hands to the bleeding wound, closing her eyes in concentration.

Her arrival unfroze the rest of the room.

As light flared out from her fingers two Fighters went over to Talic and helped their comrade-in-arms to stand. Supporting him, the three left to seek out the Castle doctors.

At the same time Karis rapped out orders and sent five Fighters outside to see how Ruwalk fared after falling out of a window into a courtyard. One came back some minutes later to tell her that it was only one story down and the Yellow Officer was unconscious but had just suffered from broken bones and some cuts from the glass.

Kai-stern went over to Alfeegi, who was staring down at his own sword, which was on the ground and bloody to within inches of the hilt. "You okay?" The White Officer jumped a little when Kai-stern put a hand on his shoulder.

"I…I suppose."

"That was quite a strike you got." he said. "Were you hurt when were thrown into that table?"

There was a dull ache in his shoulder and side but Alfeegi shook his head. "Just a few bruises. It would probably hurt more if I had cracked a rib."

"At least I'm not the only Officer unhurt, then." said Kai-stern.

"I think I managed to avoid harm," remarked Karis from the chair she'd half fallen into. No one dared suggest she should rest. They wanted to keep their heads.

"Good, now I don't feel so bad."

By the felled Black Officer, things were interesting. Everyone had been giving Sayna space to work in, but Lykouleon was crouched on the other side of Kenen, frowning. He watched Sayna's hands glowing, the flesh knitting under her power, the elf starting to sweat, the blood ceasing to flow. She lost a little color, and then the wound was gone.

"Remarkable," said Lykouleon. But when he touched Tetheus' arm, it was cold through the cloth and Sayna had yet to open her eyes.

Now Sayna put her hands on Tetheus' chest and seemed to be concentrating even harder. Gradually the Black Officer breathed less and less frequently. Somewhat worried about this, Lykouleon reached and put his fingers on the inside of Tetheus' wrist and sure enough, the steady pulse was slowing.

He was about to say something when Kai-stern sat next to him and shook his head. "Don't Milord. You know it's always bad to interrupt a healer at work."

"What is she doing? The plan as Ruwalk explained it to me was bit vague about this part."

From an inner pocket Kai-stern took his glasses and put them on. This, in Kai-stern speech, was equivalent to almost a panic attack. It didn't help that Kai-stern's hand had faltered slightly. "We… we're not quite sure. If this goes wrong… you might need to find a new Black Officer, Milord. But the plan is fairly simple. We're going to kill Tetheus, sir."

To his credit, Lykouleon was savvy enough to the way his Officers worked to not leap to his feet and shout that that was irrational and foolish in the extreme. "And what is that going to accomplish?" he asked instead, knowing there had to be sense somewhere in this mad plan, if he looked hard enough.

"More than you'd think, sir," said Kai-stern, standing and tugging gently on the Dragon Lord's sleeve to suggest that he back away some. He spoke more softly, banking on the fact that the demon in Tetheus had better things to do at the moments than eavesdrop. "She's going to stop his heart and hopefully the assassin inside will… well, we'll have to see."

Several minutes of silence followed, which were only punctuated by the Fighters sifting nervously in the background and the ever slowing breathing of Tetheus.

And then…

"He's gone." Sayna announced.

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**Inside**

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What on earth was that insane elf doing to him?! Kenen couldn't figure it out, but at the moment, he didn't care. It was clear that the Dragon Lord was out of reach for good now, there was no possible way to kill him with all those Officers and Fighters in the way. There was no point in trying to eliminate them all, he'd never manage it.

Besides, he needed to get out of this body before he died with it, already he could feel the cold darkness creeping up on him from the corners. Things were shutting down, the body giving up now that the heart had stopped.

Time to cut his losses and get out.

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**Meeting Room**

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"_What_!" the remaining couple of Fighters demanded, "Gone, gone _how_?!" And as a group they started to crowd forward, but were stopped in their tracks by the force of the glare from Karis.

"Out." she ordered.

With only a slight hesitation they turned and filed reluctantly out.

Rising from her chair, Karis joined Kai-stern and Lykouleon along with Alfeegi, so they stood at the group.

"I don't like to issue orders that I don't think will be listened to," Karis began. "but, Lord Lykouleon, it might be a good idea for you to leave right now. For your safety. This would all be pretty pointless if you were stabbed when the assassin leaps out." The Dragon Lord gave her a look that made her sigh, "Just a suggestion, sir."

"It's coming!" Alfeegi, who had been watching Tetheus, exclaimed.

Instantly all saw the dark thing that was taking form above the stricken Officer. It was humanoid, but indistinct enough that it was hard to make out the exact form beyond that. And it appeared to be having some trouble detaching itself completely, but with a final wrench of effort it got the last tentacle free.

Carefully it stepped down and for the first time stood upright and looked around. This was the assassin, the scaled creature standing rather nervously there. Kenen looked at all the angry faces of the very tall dragons standing around him.

And looked unpleasantly surprised.

Swords were hefted, faces were grim, and Sayna brought down her clenched fist, which glowed with power, on Tetheus' chest exactly where his heart was. It made a very definite _thump_.

Tetheus' heart was restarted with a jolt and his eyes snapped open. In that split second he saw the assassin and reacted with a brain that hadn't restarted completely. He swung out an arm, striking Kenen in the side, sending the demon flying through the air.

Through sheer good luck or bad luck, depending on perspective, Kenen flew through the air and went straight through the window that had been so recently broken by Ruwalk.

At once Kai-stern, Alfeegi, Karis, and Lord Lykouleon ran to the window, looking out.

But the assassin was gone.

Later, two dead Fighters were found on the small southeast gate. Another Fighter who had been ridding on Darna-back toward that gate was found knocked out on the roadside, Darna gone.

When he woke he reported that that a dark shape had clubbed him off his Darna and just as he passed out, he'd caught a glimpse of something with scales riding off on his Darna.

Kenen had escaped.

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**One Month Later**

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And so time passed.

The Castle was quick to pull itself back together after the assassin was routed from it. What wounds there were healed quickly, minds recovered, and life went on.

With only a few days of rest, Karis was able to take up her duties once more, which was fortunate because Tetheus was very unwell, due to his time possessed. On healer's orders he was still recovering in his chambers and not happy to have so much time idle.

The day after the assassin left, Lady Raseleane took Ruwalk's arm and gently pulled him to the side. "Now that it's all over, Yellow Officer, you're going to tell me _exactly_ what had been going on these last couple days." She said with a smile and steel in her voice. And like Tetheus, Ruwalk could never refuse the Dragon Lady.

He told her.

Then Raseleane had a little talk with her husband about things that she would very much like to be told _while_ they were happening, not after, thank you very much.

And life went on. Duty was done and work was completed.

One month had passed since the incident and Ruwalk had noticed something interesting. While Talic was some weeks recovering, he spoke with Tetheus once the healers had deemed the ex-assassin well again, then vanished from the Castle completely.

He returned at the end of the month, looking tired, but very self-satisfied.

"So how is our old friend Kenen feeling?" Ruwalk asked the small Fighter as he took his pack from him.

Talic nodded his thanks, rubbing his shoulders with a sigh. "Kenen is most definitely feeling ill. Positively lifeless, I have to say, Officer. Especially once _I _caught up with him."

Inspecting him, Ruwalk noticed that his tunic was spotted with blood of that particular dark shade demons had. They grinned at each other. "How unfortunate for Kenen."

Laughing, Talic said: "Oh, yes, very, Officer Ruwalk. Having your throat cut can put a real crimp in your career, sir." Between the two there was no sympathy for the assassin that had made life interesting in the Castle for a few days.

"What are you going to do now?" Ruwalk asked him as they walked toward the Castle proper.

"I think I might go back into the field, sir. My face is becoming a little too recognizable around that Castle, after all, Officer Alfeegi knew me well enough to guess my name. That's not good for someone like me." Talic made a face.

Hefting the pack a little high on his shoulder Ruwalk frowned at him. "Why not stick around? Make a few friends, have a bit of a rest. Everyone deserves a break."

But Talic shook his head. "I have friends enough, Officer and rest is overrated. Besides, I hear that Officer Kai-stern is leaving in three days for enemy territory to make a treaty. Maybe if I'm lucky can get myself sent along with him. That could get _really_ interesting."

Ruwalk laughed. "You make it sound as if nothing at all happens here!"

"Well, sir, usually, nothing does."

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**End Last Part**


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